It was a beautiful, sunny autumn afternoon, and the 75-year-old woman was visiting the park in Moline with her twin 4-year-old great-grandsons. It was about 2:20 p.m. Monday. They watched as the jet left puffs of vapor or smoke, one after another. From her perspective, the jet started zigzagging and seemed to be in trouble.

“Oh my gosh, boys, I think it’s going to crash,” Julian blurted out. Flames shot out as the jet plummeted – they couldn’t see it as it went behind trees – and they heard a loud boom, apparently when it hit the ground, about 75 miles southeast of Wichita in Elk County.

What happened, officials say, is this: Two Oklahoma Air National Guard fighter jets collided over rural Kansas during an exercise Monday afternoon, leading one of the jets to crash after the pilot ejected. Both pilots escaped serious injury.

For the complete story by Tim Potter of The Wichita Eagle, click here.